Having attended probably around 100 weddings in my lifetime, it’s rare for me to encounter anything new these days.   Don’t get me wrong, I can still fall head over heels with a gown, fawn over a gorgeous pair of stilettos and am still blown over by an amazing couple in love.  But it’s not new for me anymore.

But Diana & Mike gave me something super new.  This was my first Armenian/Lebanese wedding! I love getting to learn about new cultures and customs from the inside and weddings are the greatest celebrations to witness the music, the traditions and the customs.  Learning all kinds of new things!

And my first first look on a helicopter pad!  It was windy, oh so windy!  But it made for some incredibly beautiful veil shots that weren’t even the littlest bit staged.  Absolutely gorgeous!  A super incredible thank you to The InterContinental Hotel for making the suggestion and setting that up.

Diana & Michael – Your wedding was absolutely incredible!   So much fun, so light & airy, so much energy!  Thank you for having Amanda & I along for the ride!

Diana kept her Christian Louboutin heels in perfect condition, only breaking them in on carpet.. no scuff marks!

Her Vera Wang gown was absolutely flawless.

Those are Dianas’ natural eyelashes.  I am absolutely in awe of them and attempt to replicate them everyday.  It never works.

First look high above Century City.  Amazing.

I do believe this is my favorite bridesmaid dress ever. Ever.

Sometimes you are incredibly blessed in your life to meet a group of your peers that understand you.  Down to the core, know how you’re built, understand-you-because-they’ve-been-there-too peers.  I think it’s rare to find that in any industry, and even rarer to find it in one as small and competitive as the photography industry.  And yet, I find myself surrounded by the kindest, funniest, most inspiring group of women I could ever imagine.  At a time when I really just needed to sit, The Traveling Hearts were scheduled to spend three glorious days in Santa Cruz.  It was absolutely perfection and exactly what I needed.  I am so grateful to these women for standing next to me, for supporting me, for loving me and for inspiring me to be a better photographer, and a better person.  I love you ladies, from the bottom of my heart.

My favorite pictures from these trips are always the group ones, and they’re always masterminded by Heather Kincaid.

Renee emailed me a few days before our shoot, she told me that she wanted to surprise Pat.  Eleven years ago, he bought a 1969 VW Bug and has been slowly restoring it.  It just needed one last thing, tires & rims, before it was good to go.  But, being the amazing fiance that he is, the car had been put on the back burner as wedding plans consumed their lives.  (He will make an incredible husband.)

So, on the morning of our engagement session, and after a million hiccups and headaches, Renee was able to surprise him with a completed car!  (She will make an incredible wife.)  I’m so absolutely thrilled that I was able to document this gorgeous car on it’s first day out! 

Renee & Pat made the afternoon so much fun!   We laughed and joked and then… they jumped my car.  Turns out, not so much a battery problem, but a car-in-drive-won’t-actually-start problem.  (I am always blown away by the kindness of my clients!)  My small lapse in common sense aside, we had an incredible day and shot some really beautiful stuff.

Renee & Pat – Thank you for such a incredible afternoon!  I am so thrilled for the two of you and so excited to be shooting your wedding!  See you soon!

I don’t really remember the last time I used my "real" camera for personal shooting.  It’s heavy, it’s big, I don’t take it out of the house with me unless I’m working.  I wish I was better about this.  I have point & shoot cameras, but I never seem to remember to bring them with me.  Honestly, I don’t even know how to make it work.  I always end up trying to hard and either turning it off or rendering it non functional.  And my poor little film cameras barely make it out of my office.  But my iPhone is never out of reach.  Ever.  It’s probably a horribly dependent relationship, but it holds my life.  And the camera isn’t so bad either.  It seems it is my only form of documentation these days.  And I use it a lot.  Here are a few snippets of what’s going on with me lately! 

1. I shot some new pieces for my studio.  I walk into the room every so often to just stare at it, because I love this one so much.

2. I’ve had this Hermes scarf sitting in my closet for months, and I didn’t know what to do with it!   This option wins!

3. Cake.  So much good cake.  I made it for a pool party, but before it got all the way down the street it had melted, fruit sliding everywhere.  Cake disaster.  I’m so happy I thought to snap it before we left the house.

4. I attended the InStyle Summer Soiree this week… Diabolina was my date and she wrote a lovely post on it.

5. The Traveling Heart Society went to Santa Cruz and had a glorious few days of relaxation.  Incredible & inspiring ladies!

6. My sister, a friend and I went skydiving! It was amazing and incredible and I’m so happy that we went!  Chris made a fantastic little video!  The part where we’re all on the ground, pretending to fall from the sky, makes me giggle every time.

1. In June I planted a garden!  I built the raised bed, carefully picked the plants & prayed that at least one tomato would be edible!

2. In August it looks like we might get more than one tomato.  Maybe even two!  I killed the cucumbers, and the cantaloupes never really took off.  The corn fell over, but maybe it will still produce.  The tomatoes got early blossom rot and we lost the first round.  But we currently have three tomatoes, five squash, two eggplant and one teeny green pepper.  Perhaps all is not lost!

3. Chris & I went to my hometown in North Carolina for the Fourth of July… air travel was absolutely disastrous, but the time we spent there was pure joy.  Except for the humidity… I don’t know how people do that everyday!

4. My in laws got a new piano, so we inherited their old one!   It’s gorgeous and I love listening to my husband play.  I played for many years, but haven’t for quite a while now.  It’s slowly coming back to me.  Chris plays by chord & ear, I need sheet music.  Two such very different techniques, one outcome. 

5. LudoBites.  Oh LudoBites.  I will forever love you.

6.  We’re renovating our kitchen.  It feels like we have FOREVER been renovating our kitchen.  We ripped out the entire kitchen, re plumbed, rewired, took out the walls, ceiling, floors, windows & then started from scratch.  This shot was in our hardware stage.  When I remember what it looked like before, I can’t really believe we lived with it for so long!  We’re down to just the trim, and I’m hoping that it will be finished before we decide to sell the house in ten years. 

1. Basil Hazel.  I never thought I could love a puppy as much as I love him.  He’s the best cuddler in the world.

2. Marble purchasing day! The process was so awful, it still gives me nightmares.

3. Clearly now the kitchen is nearly finished, I need new projects.  Paint choices for the front door!

4. We planted a grapefruit tree two years ago, and this is the first one that made it!  I ate half and made a cocktail with the other half.  Both were delicious!

5. All family dinners start with a bottle of champagne.  It is a glorious tradition.  Always important to celebrate the little things.

6.  In my seven years in Los Angeles, I can count on one finger the times I’ve gone to the beach for fun.  Turns out, it is quite pleasurable!

One of the most amazing parts of my job is watching my clients grow.  I get the amazing opportunity to peek into their lives at their largest milestones.  Documenting who they are at that small moment in time.  And for Nicole & Darin, I’ve had the pleasure of documenting their large and their small.  I think this is their fourth or fifth time in front of my camera!  I’ve gotten to know them, learned more about them and am so happy to watch their love for each other bloom & flourish.  By far, one of the largest pleasures of my work.

Nicole & Darin have always veered toward nature for our shoots, and I was thrilled when Nicole mentioned that they wanted something a bit more urban.  We started on Hollywood Blvd and then headed up to the Griffith Observatory.  So many people, so much traffic, so little parking… but they were rockstars and performed beautifully for me!   I’m so happy to have another page in their life album.

Nicole & Darin – Thank you for continuing to trust me with these moments of your life.  I am absolutely honored!  I hope that you enjoy the images

I got chills when John told me how he proposed to Dena… it was such a carefully laid plan, so intricate, and yet so perfectly simple.  They met at UCLA, he saw her down a hallway their freshman year and after a bit of flirting, they became adorable college sweethearts.  Many years later, while strolling down a beach, they "happened" upon a Daily Bruin newspaper, conveniently opened to the Letters to the Editor section.  In an absolutely beautiful letter to the editor, John proposed to Dena.  Such a perfect engagement story.

So, for our engagement session, it was quite important that we headed back to the beginning.  I met them on the campus and we had a perfect afternoon, strolling the campus and getting to know each other.  They are as kind as they are beautiful.  And as fun, sweet, hilarious and generally amazing as I could ever ask for in a couple.  I am crazy talk excited for their Saddlerock Ranch wedding next year! 

Dena & John – I am so happy to be a part of your wedding.  I had such an amazing afternoon with you and am so happy with what the three of us created.  You are both beyond fabulous and I can’t wait to see you again next year!

Holly & Mike fascinate me.  When I first met with them, they had just returned from a six month trip through Australia, New Zealand, Fiji & Asia.  Travelling, for six months!  I was insanely jealous and completely fascinated that a couple could do that.  That they could have as many wonderful experiences has they have had in such a relatively short period of time.  But mostly, I was jealous, because that is my dream!

So, when we began talking about their engagement session, we all felt that it would be so important to incorporate travel & adventure as it’s such a huge part of their lives.   Holly created some really adorable props to bring along, we found an area that had a bit of water (also a big part of their lives!) and we started shooting.  We had some of the most perfect light, a coyote that kept tabs on us (Mike was fascinated, Holly & I a bit petrified) and an incredible day to create some beautiful images.

Holly & Mike – I am so thrilled to document the two of you, to be a little part of this new adventure that you’re embarking on!  I’m so excited for the wedding, and can’t wait to see what you two are creating!  Thank you so much for including me!

It is my favorite thing in the world when my couples want to make their engagement session unique.  When they want to make it very personal to their own lives.  It makes it so much fun for me, to be able to take a little peek into their lives!  Diana & Eric really wanted to make it about them, so Diana searched for a movie theater that would allow us to shoot inside.  And she found one that was absolutely perfect!  We created a little date night for the two of them, something they do on a regular basis… movies, snacks & cocktails.  And ice cream.  So.much.ice.cream!

Diana & Eric were so much fun, so relaxed, so comfortable with each other, and with me.  It was such a great session and I had so much fun!

Diana & Eric – Thank you for letting me into your lives!  I had such a great afternoon with the two of you and couldn’t be more excited for your wedding!  See you super soon!

Her Maid of Honor described her perfectly, an exclamation point.  And everyone laughed because it’s true.  Jessica is an exclamation point.  She’s bubbly and excited and so happy about, well, about everything!  She makes you want to go hug puppies and throw rainbows around.  And Josh is her perfect fit.  He’s incredibly creative, kind & hilarious.  They are definitely the kinds of people that you want to surround yourself with.  They are incredible people!

On Sunday, at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, they made it official in a beautiful ceremony, officiated by her uncle.  It was a gorgeous day, filled with laughter, excitement and many exclamation points!  At the end of the night, Jessica thanked me for being a part of their special day in some of the most heartfelt words I’ve ever heard.  Those words mean the world to me!

Jessica & Josh – It was BEYOND my pleasure to document your wedding day.  I am so happy to know the both of you and to have been a part of your wedding day!  I wish you all the luck in the world in Seattle!

Caroline & Eric are sweet.  They’re funny.  They’re head over heels in love with each other and it shows in every kiss, every smile, every glance.  And they’re Southern.  Both from North Carolina, I was so excited to hear the accents again, to soak up the Southern hospitality and to fill my belly with BBQ.

They were married at The SmogShoppe, one of my favorite green spaces in Los Angeles.  Not a detail was left undone, and they really incorporated some of the most adorable projects!  When the cake was set out, I didn’t quite understand the cake topper.  Caroline & Eric actually designed it themselves.  She designed him, and he designed her.  They didn’t see each others’ creations until everyone else saw them together!   It was so sweet, incredibly hilarious and perfect for this couple. 

Caroline & Eric – Your day was so incredible and I’m so happy to have been a part of it!  You two are so much fun and we had a beautiful evening!   Thank you so much for having Jen & I!   Congratulations!